Graham, I guess it all depends on hrs/year usage pattern. I'd be perfectly happy running asian stuff even if it had 30% lifespan compared to the real stuff as I probably use my machines 1hr/month and I'm a cheap bastard.... ymmv :)

100mmx1.5 @ £195.94 per m ... I know they add way more more that 100% to everything they resale, so take they prices as the most expensive option.Hopefully Graham's supplier is not so expensive that will allow us to buy the real deal within the uk, otherwise better keep an eye on Hugh's far east "Turcite".

I would love to try out a piece of the material, but mailing it to Finland would be excessive to you.

Did you got any mechanical properites. If not, can you test/measure/qualify the material any ways?

1: Do you have any instructions how to glue it? Can you test to glue a little piece of to steel with epoxy and report if it sticks and when you remove it where it delaminates?

2: How hard does it appears?

3: How much friction it appears to have under load? Does oil lubrication make it slide better?

4: Cold flow? Can you cut a stamp size piece, measure linear dimensions and thickness, put it under a load for few days and measure again? Pure teflon creeps like there is no tomorrow, fillers increase friction, but make it more resistant to cold flow.

Pure teflon is pretty much unsuited for our purposes. It does not glue well, proverbial to use as a filler, cold flow, poor mechanical properties. Therefore there must be whole lot of fillers and other materials that define it's mechanical properties.

No need to make a science of it, just a quick test.

Like cold flow. The table says (for pure teflon): Deformation Under Load, 23 °C granular 2% with 6.9 MPa (1000 psi). Epoxy matrix should make it much more resistant.http://www.onlineconversion.com/pressure.htm6.9 megapascal = 0.703 604 186 95 kilogram-force/square millimeter6.9 megapascal = 70.360 418 695 kilogram-force/square centimeterSo, I would take any convenient weight estimate back the size of sample and see how much it sqashes under load.

I have a lathe that could benefit from this material. This lathe has generous surface area between ways and saddle I'm imagining that if it does not greep under 10 kg/cm2 load and it can take short time 70kg/cm2 load it will be ok. But if it cold flows while just staying there or under load it would not only be waste of time, but pretty hard to fix afterwards with 1-2 mm of materila missing from the saddle.

What I am thinking is what would be appropriate thickness. I'm thinking of 0,5 or 1,0 mm if is pretty hard and very flat I.E does not need machining to make it fit after glueing. Bit thicker than that if it needs grinding or such. Then again it might have sufficient amount of cold flow to compensate in most of the cases.

4: Cold flow? Can you cut a stamp size piece, measure linear dimensions and thickness, put it under a load for few days and measure again? Pure teflon creeps like there is no tomorrow, fillers increase friction, but make it more resistant to cold flow.

I can possibly do this, I have a 250t hydraulic press that might be suitable

Not sure how this specimen is manufactured. I imagine that some are cast to thick slab and then skived to certain thickness.

The glue side must be prepared, ususally etched or it bonds badly. The sample I got has two little bit different sides...one that I suspect is the glue side.

I rumaged my suff but I didn't find any normal non filled epoxy. Shops are not open this hour, I have some time to procrastinate, before I need to try.

Also I have completely run out of small sample cups....I buy like 50 of them and now that my daugter has been making up some of her own make up and does whole lot of painting, the cups just disappear. Plenty of lids left. Mystery.

I got some two componenet epoxy, consumer brand. First I lapped the key stock reasonbly flat. Then I cleaned the key stock and 10*20 mm pieces of this bearing material with IPA, waited few minutes and mixed slow cure epoxy. I tried to get very thin even coat of epoxy.

I stacked over a granite surface plate: Baking sheet, glued bearing material under the key stock and wighted them down with two 1-2-3 blocks.

Let them cure overnight and then checked them. A little of the glue has extruded out but no dollops or runs.

The surface needed a quick go with 400 diamond plate, it was not even for testing. It has clear bronze sheen on it, but I did not got clearly on camera.

First when I tested it to granite surface plate I was a little disapointed. It has not stick like metal or really flat granite. It also has some friction.

Then I tested it on dry and lubricated cast iron micrometer foot. It needed a little work and lubricant before the stick-slip feel decreased. Interesting.

I used some thin parafin oil as a lubricant and then it had a very nice feel. It still worked well when I pressed it harder. Some black material (grphite?) came in oil suspension.

I cleaned both surfaces and tried again. It still seems pretty much ok when it is used dry.

Would need some serious testing, because it feels a little different depending on how well it is bedded, amount of oil, pressure and speed. Tried to figure standard way of measuring...would need a good spring scale and try it on lathe bed. Anyway, it feels like it works.

Did not try to scrape or grind it with a TCG yet.

Maybe next step would be to measure thickness and put some weight over it to see if it is likely to cold flow during use.

One day of immerrsion test in synthetic cutting oil made no difference on 10 mm square sample dimenssions.

Only funny thing is that the is just very little discoroured. Just about noticeable. I started doubting myself, but then I dropped one little blob of new oil and then the difference is quite clear (but still quite small)

Hard to cattch riveting drama on camera - after all it is just a small piece of materil immersed in oil.

Planning to keep it in oil for few weeks and I really don't expect it to expand. If it does then there is something really wrong with the material, but it feels pretty genuine.

The specimen in the immersion test has not changed in dimenssions any measurable way. I'm using a digital caliper. Only thing it that it is shedding green colour in the oil, that means something in the end.

Wonder if I should try out way oil, hydraulic oil and I still might have some cutting emulsion left for test.

The other specimen has not been deformed at this load level. I could double the load or keep the one plate I have few more days.